PVS Baseball

The story of the year in 2021 was this one written on Foreign Substance use in Baseball. It started a media storm & changed the game But did you know the story was written here in Pittsburgh at PVS? A brief history of PVS is woven into the piece as well thescore.com/mlb/news/21800…

Preseason scrimmages wrapped up this morning (no school today!)…..now we get to work! 1st game on Monday🦁 Here are a few hitting and fielding- 3B clips. #alwaysworkingtogetbetter #biggoals @GLHSsoftball @Ohiohawks09King @PVSbaseball @iCoachhitting @ExtraInningSB @MaxPreps @FlyerSoftball @CoachBuffUD @CamdenDecker @Coach2K_OSU @Jess_Odonnell88 @Coach_PetrieSB @whitmorealex8 @Hall_J_4 @madimccrady1022 @PiperSwiper @whitney_arion @Pmurphy08 @CoachPena_BSU @mandygardner24 @livforshey @Coach_Doria @Coach_mcGuem @CoachWThees @jess_bracamonte @Coach_MGardner

Serra Catholic’s @arimajor18 goes with this one for an RBI Double Her and @breezydobs28 were the big Bats in the Eagle lineup this week!!! Major is an Uber fast athlete / position flexible and a PVS Bat & Arm @AMGoldOhio @PrepSoftball @bxrosenberg @KaylaLombardo11 @ExtraInningSB @LineDsoftball @YAthletesF @tagupSoftball @TopPreps @Sun_Dragon1 @TheRuse8 @P413Sports @SBRRetweets @BREAL412 @los_stuff

Another great day on the bump for The PVS Crew at @PPUBaseball @brrandonc 2 scoreless 1 hit @Logan_Creamer06 1 scoreless no hits @34Zaneg 1 scoreless 8 pitches no hits Pioneers beat @BSU_Baseball_ 2-1

Remote trainer Drew doesn’t let a cancelled game get in his way!! A little “2 cups of water” on the slide-board in the living room does a body good!!

24 hours after being ruled eligible by the PIAA- Breezy Dobnak rips a pitch down and in deep To left for an RBI 🥩 for @SerraCatholic

Final Day in Myrtle for Bethel Park and @HladioMichael kept the hot streak going at the plate 3 more hits and a couple RBI🥩 for the big Lefty they call “Spike”

“No one ever told us that before” is a refrain we hear time and time again If you’re in the rat race of travelball in the current climate of college ⚾️ recruiting - you’re doing it wrong Great post from Randy⬇️

@bp_hawks @BP_BlackHawks 💪 #Spike

🚨Hawks wrap up the Myrtle Beach trip with a Double Header sweep‼️ Game 1: 16-0 over West Greene 💪Rendulic (W + 3inn 5k) & Wedoski (1inn 2k) combine for a NO HITTER! 💥Thomas 2hit + 3B + 3rbi 💥Hladio 2hit + 2rbi 💥Knauff (2rbi), White (rbi), Fisher, & Lentz w hits 🦈 #ttob

Down in Florida… @MTelegdy is starting 2026 off with a bang. The Sophomore to the wall for a triple!!! @CoachMandy13 @SHUgriffinsSB @CALU_softball @SRU_Softball @ClarionSoftball

Cheeeeeeze and Crackers To the moon 🌙 @emma_newsom2026 😳😳😳😳😳 @PackSoftball commit ✍️ Sound 🆙 for this one

South Park has another big arm in the pipeline. Logan Polk has been at PVS for about 6 months. We recently shared with him The story of SP Alum Brenden Gray. Brenden was a good pitcher who thought he had a curveball & a fastball ….when in reality he had a cutter & a fastball. Brenden was one of the first Pitch Design case studies with Jared Skolnicki and Taylor Lehman. We were able to show B Gray that with how his fastball profiled- a Curveball tunneled well would make him harder to hit. Brenden would use that “tunneling” north & south concept to become one of the WPIAL’s best. Today- Logan thought he was throwing a four seam when in reality he was throwing sinkers. He had a plus Changeup and a bullet slider. His stuff will play just fine at his current level. But given how he profiles a higher efficiency slider or “sweeper” would fit him better and “split the plate.” So we played around with that and spent quite a bit of time explaining the concepts below to young Logan. “Splitting the Plate" means locating a pitch to cover or bridge both halves of the strike zone (arm-side and glove-side). “Pitch tunneling” is an advanced concept where different pitches share nearly identical trajectories out of the hand and through the early/mid-flight path. This creates an optical illusion: the hitter sees the same pitch for as long as possible before the offerings diverge dramatically near the plate. Effective tunneling relies on consistent release point, similar initial spin/axis, and velocity differences. The goal is deception….hitters must commit early (around 175 ms before contact), so late-breaking movement exploits that decision window. The Value of Combining "Splitting the Plate" with Tunneling in Pitch Design This approach is highly valuable for pitchers because it maximizes deception, swing-and-miss rates, weak contact, and overall effectiveness. Here are the 4 core concepts of combining tunneling and splitting the plate that we taught Logan today: 1. Bridges Movement Gaps A pitch designed to "split the plate" means separation up and down (“Vert”) or left to right (“H”). Think fastball high/inside with a splitter/curve low/away… (but the splitter can bridge the vertical/horizontal extremes) 2. Optimal Separation for Whiffs and Chases ▪️Vertical separation (IVB differential): ~8-16 inches (or up to 16-26 inches drop for fastball vs. breaking ball). This was key 🔑 for B- Gray but isn’t in the cards for Logan .. However the next one is. ▪️Horizontal separation 6-14 inches at the plate. Too little separation & pitches look too similar even late (hitter adjusts easily). This is most common in amateur pitchers. Too much early = poor tunneling (hitter identifies early). This is most common in youth pitchers. A "plate-splitting" pitch hits the sweet spot, inducing chases out of the zone while staying competitive as a strike. 3. Enhances Sequencing and Deception. In Pittsburgh Steeler terms, it just gives a defense more of the field to defend. Understanding these and other concepts turns a good arsenal into a deceptive, swing-and-miss machine by forcing hitters to commit before they can distinguish location, speed, or break.

Word on the street is the Perks twins are coming to Steel Town

2 relative newbies we have been impressed with! TJ 2029 @ellapalermo55 @AMGoldOhio Hampton 2028 @AshleySchick16 @TE_Steiner

@TJHannam10 Excellent music choice 😉

Gunnar Henderson - Cage Work - High School, 2nd round pick (AL) - I love showing HS clips of MLB hitters for PERSPECTIVE to current HS or College hitters - Many times the elite qualities are there but it's not polished, 'perfect' yet like it is when they're in MLB

The best!!!!

If you see this girl today- wish her a very Happy Birthday!!!!! Have a great one today Mack!!

@bp_hawks 👀 Alan!! @jaegersports

The Hawks are enjoying Myrtle Beach (avg temp = 50) while western PA enjoys some snow☀️ 2 more games today then heading back up North tomorrow ❄️ 🦈 #ttob

Must be quite a feeling for Coach Jose tonight in Miami!! #WBC

Great WBC Happy for our full stable of Venezuelan 🇻🇪boys who work so hard everyday in the lab. Baseball is fast becoming the World’s game and we are so blessed to have so many players from all Over the Globe 🌎 Word on the Street is that we have some Travelog of one of our Coaches @ The game in Miami 😉